As much as we say, Photography is an art, there is much more to it! Apart from being artistic and imaginative, a good photographer needs to get all the techniques and rules of photography in mind to be able to get the best pictures of the lot. In this post, we’ll discuss 20 essential tips of good photography and how you can make most of each.
1. Capture The Natural Morning Light
A good picture definitely needs the best lighting and there is nothing better than natural light. Ask any renowned photographer and the one piece of advice you’ll get is to use as much natural light as you can in your photography. Morning light i.e an hour after the sunrise, is considered to be the best light to capture most types of subjects.
2. Do Thorough Research On Your Subject
This is most appropriately applicable to those who are willing to capture the beauty of nature by travelling to different destinations. You must be aware of the place and its significance before you begin clicking it. Knowing the subject well will help you take some of the amazing and intelligent clicks.
3. Get Familiar With Your Tool
This is undoubtedly the first and the foremost thing you should so before packing your gears. Learn about each and every aspect of your camera. Get familiar with different functions and how they can be helpful in delivering unique photographs. Make sure you do your homework well before setting out on the spree.
4. Pick The Right Place To Stay
Most photographers die to get a room with beautiful views. This not just help them to wake up with fresh ideas, but also give a lot of opportunities to capture the view from different perspective without having to do any hard labor. You just need to be ready with your camera and capture the view at different points of time in a day and night.
5. Learn To Greet
Subjects are everywhere. You just need to have an eye for them. A person reading daily newspaper on the bench on the bank of a river can also be a great click if you know how to seek permission well. Just learn to greet people in several different local languages and it will get you on the right path.
6. Get Inspired, Get Innovated!
There’s nothing wrong with seeking guidance and inspiration from the portfolios of great personalities of your field. Knowledge gathered from practical observation is much more reliable and useful, than any theoretical technicalities.
7. Discover The Place
A good photography is not just about clicking some beautiful landscapes of the place. You need to feel the place from within to be able to capture the best things that others may not even able to think of.
8. Find A Good Company
So, you are new to a place and don’t to know from where to start? Well, a local can help you find all the good places where you can get some of the great photo opportunities. Just talk to some locales and pick a person that can take you around places too.
9. Travel As Light As You Can
The key to better photography is to avoid stuffing everything you have in your bag. Just focus on essential things like a pair of zoom and prime lens, battery charger and some daily essentials. Travelling light will help you explore more places, than you would ever do with heavy baggage.
10. Come Out With a New Point Of View
Yes, we all know Thailand has some beautiful beaches and that India is famous for some beautiful temples. It’s time you come up with some fresh ideas. Everything has been discovered and published, it’s time to be innovative and creative.
11. Keep It Slow
It’s not at all a good idea to stuff everything at one place. Try to come out of your comfort zone, forget about the time constraint and prepare yourself well before clicking the red button. Things need to be organized and well understood before they get captured in your small handy device.
12. Travel With Locals
Pulling up a private taxi will not help. Take a tour of local buses or city metro to get into interactions with the locals. This will help you find the best photography opportunities, that you may not bother t explore on your own.
13. Enjoy Your Vacation Too
Don’t just get too involved with your camera and lenses. Even your brain needs to relax a bit. Take a ride around the city or town without photography in your mind or hand. Enjoy your time staying at a new place and explore it like any other tourists would.
14. Believe In Being Natural
It’s always advised to go for natural lighting as much as you can. There are many renowned photographers like Henri Cartier Bresson, who have never used flash light in their photography. This not juts saves you on heavy expenses, but also help you give best quality pictures ever.
15. Get On To Vantage Point
Every good travel photographer will always have a bird view image in his collection. Find yourself a higher point from where you can look down and see the entire city or town of the place.
16. Leave The Excuses Behind
“I don’t have a good camera”, “My lens is not of good quality”, “I didn’t have much time”. Well, all these excuses won’t get you anywhere if you don’t start accepting what you have and get the best out of it. Remember, camera is a tool and whoever learns to use it in the best way, will have the trophy in the end!
17. Find A Guide
As mentioned earlier, practical guidance is more beneficial than theoretical knowledge. Try to find a photographer who is ready to make you his assistant. You can learn a lot just be observing his moves in terms of lighting, choosing places, communicating with locals and so on.
18. Look Around For “Exotic” Picks
As much over exaggerated as it sounds, it is not at all difficult to find “Exotic” places to shoot. If you’ll run deep into your imagination, you’; realize that the place you are standing on right on can be given an exotic makeover with just few simple fantastic clicks. As it says, be creative with what you have and you can achieve the heights!
19. Don’t Get Stagnant
A travel photographer should always be exploring and clicking. Keep your portfolio alive and fresh with new collections. There’s no need to travel to far off places. Just a round trip to nearest hill stations will also bring in new opportunities every time you step into a new town.
20. Be Careful With Your Subjects
Try to be courteous and decent while you are shooting around. Respect your subjects and treat them with dignity. Don’t shoot the ones who don’t want to. If you’ve promised them to send their pictures, please do so. These small things will keep your subjects happy and give you some of the best shots.
Follow these simple rules of photography and you’ll see a remarkable difference in your collection then and now. These tips will help bring out the best skills in you, giving you an altogether new perspective of the art of photography.
Rachel is a passionate blogger about travel and photography and works for Sarre Photography.
Recent Comments